and i'll write you a tragedy
by mcfuz
Summary: and don't you know heroes aren't meant to survive? / or, perseus jackson and the end of the world. freeverse. boo spoilers.


_a kid under a tablecloth insists he's a ghost. a table  
>underneath a tablecloth is, i guess, like the rest of us,<br>only pretending to be invisible_

—richard siken

/

it's kind of a  
><em>funny<em>  
>story<p>

isn't it?

at least,  
>that's what you tell yourself<p>

it's the **irony **of it, really,  
>that gets your blood<br>_boiling_

after everything you've been through  
>and <span>every<span>thing you've done

the end of the world comes anyway

[and baby it's all your fault]

/

tick tock (goes the clock)  
>time is<br>_running_  
>OUT.<p>

/

an amnesiac, a corpse and a chinese canadian walk into a bar  
>(you wait for the punchline<p>

but you're already the joke)

/

there's not much you remember:  
>b-i-t-s<br>p/i/e/c/e/s

you know your name  
>(you're a walking tragedy)<p>

you know your dad  
>(now there's a prize)<p>

these facts could fill  
>a children's<br>[story] book

and what you _don't_ know could fill  
>a novel<p>

/

there's a flower that  
><em>grows<em>  
>on your windowsill<p>

do you see it?

it feeds off your **guilt**  
>and calls you a <strong>liar<strong>

/

_hero_, they say,  
>like it's something to be proud of<br>_proud of_

**hero (noun):**  
>a person admired for their <em>courage<em>,  
>or their <em>achievements<em>

your courage consists of:  
>1 x ballpoint pen<br>1 x godly parent

and your achievements?

_empty_  
><strong>empty<strong>  
><span>empty<span>  
>[empty]<br>EMPTY

now _that's _a hero,  
>right, folks?<p>

/

jason and his argonauts  
>a story for the ages<p>

but what history books  
><em>don't<em> tell you  
>is this:<p>

infidelity  
>rape<br>murder

all in a day's work for a greek hero,  
>right, perce?<p>

/

there is so much  
><em><strong>B-L-O-O-D<strong>_  
>on your hands<br>you're surprised they aren't  
>D<br>R  
>I<br>P  
>P<br>I  
>N<br>G

BiancaZoëCastorLeeBeckendorfMichaelSilenaLukeLeo

(it's no coincidence  
>tears taste like the sea)<p>

/

_a __half-blood__ of the eldest dogs_  
>that's all you are<p>

half-god, half-man  
>(half-hero, half-coward)<p>

**destined**  
>to make<br>a _choice_

how can they ask that of you  
>when you don't even know trig?<p>

how can they expect  
>you to make that choice<br>and _not _feel _responsible_ for the

—repercussions—

/

to save a friend,  
>athena told you once,<br>you would sacrifice the world

isn't it funny, then,  
>that <em>so many <em>of your friends are  
>dead<p>

and the world is ending  
><strong>just<br>the  
>same<strong>

/

tartarus hangs off you  
>like a cloak<p>

it's dark

it's heavy

it weighs  
>you down<br>and wraps you tight, _tightly_, _**tighter**_  
>like a boa constrictor<br>or a wind-up toy

annabeth feels it too  
>you know she does<p>

but she was always the  
><em>brave<em>  
>one, wasn't she?<p>

the _brave _one  
>the <em>smart<em> one  
>the one with a <em>plan<em>

but you  
><span>you<span>

son of poseidon  
>(the sea never liked to be tamed)<br>and now  
><span>now<span>

tartarus hangs off you  
>like a cloak<br>and you don't have the courage  
>or the cleverness<br>to get yourself out of _this_ **hot ****mess**

(have fun, hero;  
>you're in for a wild ride)<p>

/

the end of the world  
>starts with the stupidest of things:<p>

a nosebleed  
><em>your<em> nosebleed, seaweed brain

[of course it's all your fault]

(and they all know it, too)

/

you are selfish, perseus jackson

you are a tide and a calming breeze and a kayak crossing a lake  
>you are a storm and a raging ocean and a ship splintering into watery depths<p>

you are not a hero,  
><em>hero<em>

how does it go again?  
><em>to storm or fire the world must fall<em>  
>that's not you, baby, that was never you<p>

so why don't you run on home  
>and let the big boys handle it?<p>

but you don't  
>because you are <span>selfish<span>  
>and your <strong>folly<strong> ends the world

/

every scar  
>on your body<br>has a  
>. s . t . o . r . y .<p>

_you're a walking cliché_

there's one from luke,  
>one from a drakon,<br>and a dozen others from a dozen other monsters

scars are supposed to make you feel  
><em><strong>brave<strong>_

scars are supposed to make you feel  
><em><strong>strong<strong>_

but your scars,  
>baby,<br>hero,  
>saviour of olympus;<p>

your scars make you feel  
><em><strong>used<strong>_

after all, it's all fun and games,  
><em>until someone gets hu/r/t_

[then it's hilarious]

/

sometimes you miss it  
>you know?<p>

_tabula rasa;_  
><span>blank slate<span>

you miss the peace  
>the calm<br>the quiet

you miss the  
>f-r-e-e-d-o-m<p>

because right here  
><strong>right now<strong>  
>with your memory in/t/a/c/t  
>you<br>are

SHACKLED

like _prometheus _to his **rock**  
><em>destined <em>for **pain**  
>(for <strong>greatness<strong> they say—

—but you know that's a lie)

/

and don't you know  
>heroes [aren't meant to] survive?<p>

/

p-p-p-percy  
>even your name is like<br>_a promise_

/bob says hello/  
>you tell the stars<br>but it's not _enough_  
>(is it?)<br>to erase your **mistakes**

/

the trident has  
><em>three<em>**three**three  
><span>prongs

(one for the master  
>one for the dame<br>and one  
>for the little boy who lives—<p>

no. that's not right)

one for who you _were_

—worthless stupid arrogant ugly _wrong__**wrong**__**wrong**_—

one for who you _are_

—fledgling saviour loser second-best still wrong you're wrong you're [a carbon copy of] a hero—

and one for who you'll _become_

—praetor martyr hero? villain? you don't know you just **don't know anymore**—

three prongs  
>for the three fates<p>

three prongs—

that's _two _more  
>than are needed to<br>F  
>A<br>L  
>L<br>on your own  
><span>sword<span>

/

and isn't it _funny_  
>that someone once said:<p>

_give me a hero and i'll write you a tragedy_

because percy,  
>baby,<br>seaweed brain;

you were doomed from the start

/

the **end of the world** is nigh  
>(tick tock perce; your time's almost up)<p>

/

i'm [not] afraid of dying  
>you say<br>as you die

because, after all—

what's /one/ more little lie?

/

_sorry about the blood in your mouth. i wish it was mine._

—richard siken


End file.
